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Trademark

Trademark

Trademarks are a ubiquitous part of modern life. You can probably see a dozen or more from where you are sitting right now. Indeed, the EFF logo at the top of your screen is a registered trademark.

When it works well, trademark law protects businesses and consumers. Businesses get protection against competitors who would sell knock-off goods. Consumers get the benefit of knowing who stands behind the goods and services they buy. But trademarks can also be abused. Companies sometimes use trademark law to silence critics. And companies have tried to leverage trademarks as a way to get overbroad Internet filtering orders.

EFF has represented the Yes Men and other activists that have faced trademark-based attempts to silence them. We have also filed amicus briefs in cases where trademark claims threatened free speech. We work to ensure that trademark law serves consumer protection, rather than as a barrier to free expression.

With so much dissatisfaction over how companies like Facebook and YouTube moderate user speech, you might think that the groups that run the Internet’s infrastructure would want to stay far away from the speech-policing business. Sadly, two groups that control an important piece of the Internet’s infrastructure have decided to...

Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new “privacy-focused” direction for the company that, while sounding great in theory, also set off several alarm bells—including concerns about competition as the company moves to make its messaging properties indistinguishable from one another. As usual for Zuckerberg, it’s all...

Update January 23, 2019: Asos contacted EFF to apologize for the cease and desist letter. Asos said the letter should never have been sent and assured us that it would take no further action against our client. We welcome the apology and hope that this case serves as an example...